Saturday, April 24, 2010

Goldstone Goes to a Bar Mitzva

Not that this is a particularly important story, but it now appears Richard Goldstone will be able to participate in his grandson's bar mitzva after all - which is certainly the outcome the grandson probably wished for.
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies, which represents most of the country’s synagogues, issued a statement that outlined something like a quid pro quo: a promise of no protests on the bar mitzvah boy’s big day, in exchange for a meeting between the judge and leaders of the South African Zionist Federation and other Jewish organizations.
I'm not privy to any more information about this than anyone else, but it sounds to me that the leaders of South African Jewry took upon themselves to recommend to their community members not to demonstrate against the judge, if in return he'd meet them and listen to their displeasure of him.

Which would seem to indicate that prior to the kerfuffle, he wasn't willing to meet them. Sounds like a jolly fellow and a stalwart of his community.

6 comments:

Empress Trudy said...

So now Jews have to swear not to object to people who hate them, standing in their own shul and getting an aliyah.

Anonymous said...

As the father of a bar mitzvah boy (this last Shabbos), I know first hand the pressures on my son and the rest of the family as the big day approached. I fully emphathise with the family of the Goldstone bar mitzvah boy and find it disgusting that there was even an intention to disrupt the family simcha. If there's a broiges with Richard Goldstone, fight it out elsewhere. This is shtetl mentality stuff.

NormanF said...

What it is tells is the Stupid Jews are not willing to enforce a cherem on those who hate them and who work for Israel's demise.

Its as business as usual and the Richard Goldstones of the world face no real consequences for their actions.

Barry Meislin said...

Like many of us (all of us? Even those of us who don't like to wear hats?...), it seems that Richard Goldstone wears several hats.

One of them is proud grandfather and family man.

Another is concerned citizen of the world.

Another is committed Jew and Zionist.

A fourth is proud and unrepentant purveyor of global blood libels against the Jewish State.

(So who said you can't have everything in life?...)

And so, a hearty Mazal Tov, along with God's blessings, to the proud grandfather!!---And (with apologies to Tevye's rebbe) keep him far, far, far away from us....

Empress Trudy said...

A Bnei Mitzvah isn't a private party it's a community event. If the family wanted a closed service they could have more easily held it on a Monday or any OTHER day the Torah is opened.

Anonymous said...

Why should they hold it on another day? Did Goldstone's grandson write the Goldstone Report? If not, why punish an innocent child just because one disagrees with what the grandfather did?